Well, first i must say this movie really shocked me. It's very well done movie, great story, great characters, very nicely shot fights and amazing acting from Van Damme. Truely, i never expected this kind of movie from Van Damme. It's not an action movie as we can expect from him. It's a very dark story, a real drama, a movie which has a very deep meaning.
The movie is very rude, severe and brutal, what else can we expect from a prison. Van Damme's character evolves greatly during the movie and he becomes another person. Van Damme did a very good job, his acting is very good.
Ringo Lam is a very good director and this movie proves it once again. The prison looks very real, the opening sequence in the city done very well, the fights are very realistic, no martial arts, but sort of very brutal street fighting.
Overall: Very good movie, great drama. Stunning performance by Van Damme. Everyone must see this movie, but don't expect the regular VD stuff, that's not a light action flick, but a very dark movie. The movie keeps you intersted in what's going to happen next, there's no boring scenes. The action and the fights shot very well. It's something new from Van Damme, now we just need him to combine good acting and good story, like in this one, with some more action, traditional fights, shootouts, chases and we'll have a great movie. In hell is one step forward in Van Damme's career.
